A Houston man has been charged with murder after authorities said he "nearly" decapitated his girlfriend with a samurai sword Wednesday night.Kenneth Wayne Lockings, Jr. turned himself in following the gruesome slaying, court records show.Police responded to a call about a possible "cutting in progress" around 5:30 PM. When they arrived, officers found 36-year-old Aracely Jernigan dead in the living room.It was not immediately clear what led to the slashing.Just hours earlier, the 45-year-old had stopped by his grandmother's house for coffee, the elderly woman told the Houston Chronicle.Marie Carrier, who lives next door on Tangiers, said she was unaware of what happened in the hours after Lockings left her home, but said it was well-known he had mental issues."He's really messed up in the head," she said.He'd received the sword as a Thanksgiving present, the grandmother said. She also said Jernigan had been living with family in Mexico for a few months, and had only recently returned to Houston.The suspect's family members initially found him at the scene and helped Lockings turn himself in at the nearby police station, where he was interviewed, arrested and charged, according to police.

HOUSTON, Texas —

A Houston man has been charged with murder after authorities said he "nearly" decapitated his girlfriend with a samurai sword Wednesday night.